Fall to Pieces
by chocolate-kissez696
Summary: Ok this is a typical Murauder tale with many adventures and how they came to be friends. Some romance later one when they get older. Please check it out and review! (On hold...writers block for this one)
1. The Beginning

**The Beginning**

A muffled beeping sounded as James Potter opened his eyes warily. Today he would start his first day at Hogwarts. He grinned excitedly as he noticed what day it was and scrambled to get up. He ran into his parent's room, jumping on their bed while they were sleeping.

"Mum, Dad, Wake Up!!" James exclaimed while his parents groaned for him to go back to sleep. It was only 7:00 in the morning and they didn't have to be at the train station for another 4 hours and James was already packed and ready to go.

James was as excited as ever when he had received his letter to Hogwarts. He knew that it was coming for him but that fact that it arrived had been even more of a thrill to him than anything he had ever imagined. His parents had gladly taken him to Diagon Alley for all of his school supplies later on that day. He was ecstatic about picking out a wand and was completely amazed when the red and gold sparks flew out of the wand at the touch of his fingers. "Sign of a Gryffindor" Mr. Ollivander had told him. James was quite proud.

After 15 minutes of pleading his parents to get up, he ran to the shower to get washed. After he scrambled out, he ran down to the dining room to find his father sipping coffee and reading the Daily Prophet while his mother brought in James' favorite breakfast from the kitchen. She sighed as she laid it down in front of him.

"Minny is quite disappointed that you're leaving today so she had your favorite made," Mrs. Potter said while sitting down and cutting her eggs up on her plate.

"I'm really going to miss her, you know," James said while taking a bite of his toast. "She always did take good care of me while you were both away on work. I really appreciated that," James said, looking up at his parents.

His father finally set the paper down and took another sip of his coffee. "She'll be fine without you here, James. And you'll be fine at Hogwarts too James. It may take some getting used to, but Hogwarts is the best wizarding school in the country and I'm sure you'll do just fine," Mr. Potter said to his son. "Plus," he added, "You'll have Severus there with you." James rolled his eyes at this comment. Severus Snape lived a few houses down the road from him and was the only other wizard his age around the area. "I never really did like him all that much," Mrs. Potter said. "It will be good for you to make some new friends."

James nodded in agreement. He wondered how many friends he would make today.

>>>>

Sirius Black stood at the bottom of the stairs in his family's old mansion with his brother Regalus. "You'll tell me all about Hogwarts, won't you?" Regalus asked Sirius eagerly. "Of Course, what kind of brother would I be if I didn't give you all the corny details?" Sirius answered. Regalus shrugged as they started to walk towards the kitchen.

Kreacher was washing dishes muttering to himself about 'filthy mud-bloods' and 'blood-traitors'. He turned around when he saw Sirius come in and eyed him for a moment. He then turned on his heel and stalked back out the door in his ragged loin cloth. Mrs. Black then walked in with Kreacher following her right back in, with a dreamy look plastered on his face as he looked up into her face.

"Finally, my son will go to Hogwarts and be sorted into Slytherin. Hopefully you'll follow in your cousin. Bellatrix's footsteps," She said proudly. Sirius merely rolled his eyes behind her back and nodded to her face. "I hope so too, Mother," he said through gritted teeth.

If there was a family he hated the most, it had to be his. The Black's were all about the Dark Arts, but Sirius thought differently. He didn't like the idea that Lord Voldemort had. He thought that anyone with magical powers should be given a chance. But his parents didn't notice his opinions. They only listened to what they wanted to hear, so he didn't bother to voice his own opinions to anyone but Regalus who would listen to him intently, but disagree with what he had to say because he was too afraid to stand up to their parents.

The ministry car which his father had rented finally arrived outside number 12 Grimmauld Place and Mr. and Mrs. Black, along with Sirius and Regalus hopped into it. The drive to Kings Cross was a long one for Sirius. "Your cousins will be watching you," his mother had told him. "But I would prefer you to stay away from Andromeda. She's too nice for her own good," she told him.

Andromeda was his favorite cousin of the three. He found that Bellatrix and Narcissa were just plain evil, although he had no choice but to put up with them throughout his childhood. They could see right through him and knew that he was the bad seed in the family.

Sirius sighed and blocked out the rest of what his mother was saying to him for the rest of the drive. He couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts.

>>>>

Remus awoke in his bed, finally recovered from his "condition". He got dressed and walked into the living room to find his trunk set by the door. He sighed and walked into the kitchen. He was nervous about Hogwarts. It wasn't about leaving home, it was the fact that someone might find out what he really was.

He sat down at the table by his mother who ran her hand through his hair. "Feeling better, dear?" she asked smiling hopefully. Remus nodded and nibbled on a bit of toast.

Moments later, his father apparated next to him. "I've just informed Dumbledore about your 'condition'. He said he will inform the teachers but the students will not be informed. Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse will heal you after you've transformed, since I can't be there with you. He even has a place set up for you to be when you transform," he said while smiling.

"It's not as bad as you may think, Remus," Mrs. Lupin said with her hand placed on his shoulder. "You'll get to live your life normally at school, except fall ill once a month. It's not so bad when you come to think about it. I'm sure it won't be too complicated to catch up with your studies."

"I hope you're right," Remus said finally.

>>>

Peter stayed in his room away from his father for as long as he possibly could. It was a daily routine to stay locked in his room until he was forced to leave. He couldn't wait to get away from his father and go to Hogwarts.

His father frightened him. He beat his mother whenever they had a disagreement, and she didn't have the courage to fight back or to leave so she always took it. Mrs. Pettigrew was the only comfort Peter had ever received in his family.

A gentle knock came from the door and he immediately knew it was his mother letting him know that his father had left for work. He opened the door and found a fresh bruise on her face. "Mom, why do you always take it?" he asked her while she pulled him into a hug. She merely broke into tears saying over and over "Oh, Peter".

They climbed into the car with his trunk and drove towards Kings Cross. "You're lucky you're leaving the house today," his mother told him. "It's a horrible place for a boy to grow up, especially with a father who thinks everything his son does isn't good enough."

Peter stayed quiet the whole ride. In the back of his mind, he secretly wished his father was dead.

>>>>

After a long good-bye with Minny and the longest drive James had thought he had ever experienced, he and his family had finally reached Kings Cross. James pushed his cart enthusiastically towards platforms nine and 10 looking for platform 9 and ¾ but he couldn't find it. He looked up to his parents with a slight look of confusion.

Mr. and Mrs. Potter looked down at him and chuckled. They had forgotten to tell him how to get through the barrier. Mr. Potter placed his hand firmly on James shoulder. "Watch your mother" he said as she started to walk quickly toward the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. James' eyes lit up as he watched his mother disappear into thin air.

"Just push your cart towards the barrier quickly like your mother was walking and you'll go right through to the platform," his father said. "Don't worry about crashing. It's never happened before." James nodded that he understood and headed towards the barrier, slightly nervous. He closed his eyes tightly as he neared and opened them when he didn't crash.

He found his mother smiling at him and a bright red and gold train with scarlet lettering on the side entitled "The Hogwarts Express". In a moment, his father appeared at his side. Mrs. Potter pulled him into a tight embrace and told him to write. He promised that he would. He shook hands with his father and then headed off to find a compartment.

His trunk had already been packed in the storage compartment so he found his way towards the back of the train where a boy with shaggy black hair sat looking out the window with a hateful look plastered on his face. James slid the door open and the boy turned and glared at James. He ignored it and approached.

"Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else seems to be full," James said. The boy looked him over for a moment then finally nodded. James grinned and stuck out his hand. "James Potter". The boy looked at it reproachfully and finally accepted. "Sirius Black," he finally said and went back to staring out the window.

James didn't like the awkward silence. "Are you a first year too?" he asked. Sirius nodded, not taking his eyes from the window. "Any idea what house you'll be placed in?" James asked. Sirius looked over at James. "My whole family has been placed in Slytherin, well not my whole family but for the most part it has been. I'm hoping I'll change it. I'd really like to be in Gryffindor, but with my luck it won't happen," he said seriously. "What about you?" he finally asked. "What's your story?"

"Well," James began, "My family was all Gryffindors, so I'm hoping that I can follow in their footsteps and be one too." Sirius nodded that he understood.

A whistle sounded and the train began to move. After 5 minutes of talking about quidditch, the door slid open to reveal a pudgy boy with a mousy look to him and a tall and slim boy. "Could we sit here?" The tall one asked. James looked over at Sirius who nodded. The tall one sat next to James. The mousy boy hesitated to sit by Sirius but finally sat down.

"My name is Remus Lupin," the boy next to James said. "And this is Peter Pettigrew," he added. Peter nodded his head while Sirius eyed them both like he did with James. He finally shrugged and turned his attention back to the scenery outside.

The trolley finally came around and the four boys bought most of the sweets on it. Sirius had finally lightened up and was having a great conversation about what he thought was to come at Hogwarts.

"How do you suppose we're sorted into our houses?" Peter piped up. "Hmmm I've never really thought of that," James said. "Suppose we have to fight a dragon? Or perform really high standard spells?" Sirius said. "I highly doubt there would be a dragon at the school, considering they're illegal. Plus, why would they make us do magic when we don't know any yet?" Remus said. Sirius shrugged, "Just a thought."

Halfway through the afternoon the door slid open and a boy with long black hair staggered in. "James! I've been looking everywhere for you!" He exclaimed. He then looked around at the other boys and sneered. "Have you been in here the whole time with these goody-goodies?" he asked with a hint of disgust in his voice. James nodded. "Severus, if you have a problem with my new friends then go find someone else to follow around, because I'm not gonna take it," James said. Sirius looked at him wide eyed and shifted his gaze to Severus. He gave him a hard stare and Severus finally slammed the door shut and stalked off.

"Who was he?" Sirius asked, staring down the corridor after him. "Severus Snape, he lives two houses down the road from me so I've put up with him my whole life. Very untrustworthy," James answered. "More like Snivellus" Sirius muttered. They all laughed. When Sirius wasn't being so cautious and serious, he was actually quite funny.

"I vote that that's what we call him from now on," Peter said to them. James grinned as they all agreed. "Did you mean what you said about us being your friends?" Sirius asked curiously. "Of course," James said, "Unless, that is, you don't want to be friends." "No no, that's not what I meant," Sirius said. "It would defiantly be nice to have some real friends for a change," Sirius said lost in though. He saw the three boys staring at him. "My brother was the only one in my family who would listen to what I had to say, but he wasn't brave enough to stand up to my parents. I stopped trying considering they wouldn't listen to what they didn't wanna hear."

"It must be terrible to live like that," Remus said. Peter looked at the floor staying quiet. "Something wrong Peter?" James asked. "Well, I-I don't wanna talk about it right now, sorry," he said shakily, thinking back to his mothers bruises. He sighed. He wanted to tell them, he really did, but he didn't think they would understand quite yet.

Remus wondered if he should tell them, but decided he shouldn't. Who in their right mind would wanna be friends with a werewolf? He wouldn't tell them, not ever. They just wouldn't want to be friends with him, and this was also one of the first times he's had real friends. Ever since the werewolf had bitten him, he had been an outcast. For the first time in a long time he felt like he fitted in. He wasn't going to change that.

The day passed and the food trolley went by several times, unloading many colored candies and cakes for them to munch on. They talked animatedly about their lives at home for quite some time, except for what Peter and Remus decided to not say at that moment.

Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, four girls walked in. One, which caught James' eye, had flaming red hair and bright green eyes. He stared at her in awe while she smiled at the four boys. "Hi I'm Lily Evans" she said. "And these are my friends Belle Valentine, she's from France" Lily added, indicating to a short girl with long wavy black hair and violet eyes. "Emma Darlington" a plump blonde girl with pigtails waved happily to the four boys. "And this is Alexis Maricole" she said pointing to a quiet looking girl with brown hair, blonde highlights and icy blue eyes.

"We've just been meeting the first years around the train and we'd thought we'd stop and meet you" Lily said happily. You are in your first year, aren't you?" Lily asked. Each boy nodded. "So what are all of your names?" Belle asked. "Well, my name is Sirius Black, This is James Potter, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew" he said gruffly, but at the same time watching Belle.

The sky grew darker and they knew they would arrive at the school very shortly so the girls left to go back to their compartment to get their robes. The boys thought it would be best to get changed into their robes, so they wandered around looking for the change rooms, finally stumbling across them after fifteen minutes.

The train came to a stop and they all got off of the train. "Firs' years over here," a voice called. They walked over to a very large man with a long bushy beard who beamed at them. Suddenly James was tapped on the shoulder by a gaping Remus. James looked in the direction that he was and his mouth opened slightly too. The beautiful castle was lit up across a silvery lake under a sky full of shining stars. The four boys stared in wonder at the school, awaiting the years to come.


	2. Arriving

Arrival

The enchanted boat rides to the castle were amazing. The first years jumped at the sight of tentacles from the school's giant squid as they rose out above the water. James was expressionless at the sight of the beautiful school before him. He knew he could see himself happy here. He understood what his parents meant about it being a great school.

Beside James Sirius sat, his face solemn and unsure. He didn't know what to expect here. The people around him acted as if they knew every little thing about him, or as if they wanted to, but none of them ever would. In his opinion, he wasn't sure if he should disobey his parents. If he followed in their footsteps maybe they would listen to him that there was more to the world than evil. But then again, what the hell was he talking about? He was, after all, Sirius Black.

Remus and Peter sat behind James and Sirius, thinking quietly to themselves. They took in the scenery of everything. The stares shone brightly down on the castle, reflecting on the lake. The moon wasn't out tonight, and Remus was greatful that he had a month left until his transformation. His father didn't tell him what Professor Dumbledore had planned for him, but he didn't see how he would keep it hidden if he transformed in the castle. He had always hoped to wake up one morning and find that it was all a terrible nightmare, but he doubted that he was lucky enough to have that happen to him.

Peter found himself content here. He sat next to Remus, a grin plastered on his face, and twiddling his thumbs. He could finally live a descent life without the threatening and screaming that his father did continuously at whichever chance that he got. All in all, he felt his life was go to turn out for the better.

The sky was a deep velvet blue and very clear. It had to be the perfect night. There were many whispers coming from the boats, especially from the girls. James watched the fiery redhead. She was absolutely beautiful. She seemed to have a spirit and a passion in whatever she was doing. James desperately wanted to get to know her. I may be 11, he thought, but I know there could be more than a friendship here.

They finally reached the large oak doors and walked inside. Then entrance hall was a pure white marble that sparkled and glittered in the light. A woman was standing near another set of large wooden doors. She looked to be about mid-thirties. Her hazelnut hair was pulled back loosely with a few wispy strands hanging out. As pretty as she was, she didn't seem to be the friendliest.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. I am deputy headmistress, along with transfiguration teacher and Head of Gryffindor. I am here to lead you into the Great Hall. You will be taken up to a stage, and when your name is called the I would ask that you please com forward and take a seat on the stool until it is decided what house you shall be placed in. Then you will need to take a seat at the table of the house that you have been sorted into" She said in a strict tone. The students all nodded that they understood her.

The doors were opened which revealed a dazzling hall. Many of the first years were too nervous to notice their surroundings. They walked between two tables which were known to be Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. They reached the stage and all gathered around it.

Professor McGonagall came out with a battered old hat that seemed to have been around for quite some time. Some of the first years stared at it, completely emotionless and unaware as to what was happening. The rest of the group whispered to one another about what they thought was going to happen. At that moment a seam ripped open and started singing.

"My name is the Sorting Hat

I tell you where to go

I'll look inside your empty heads

Because I'm the one who knows.

Perhaps you belong in Gryffindor

Where hearts are brave and true.

Or maybe in sly Slytherin

They're slick and also brave too.

Maybe Ravenclaw is good for you

With the clever and the smart.

Or if you don't think these will work

Take Hufflepuff to heart.

So put me on your head

So I can search around

And I can tell you

Where you should be bound."

There was a loud eruption of applause from the four house tables. The first years either clapped politely or stood with their mouths slightly ajar. After the applause had ended, Professor McGonagall walked back out onto the stage with a role of parchment in her hands.

"Black, Sirius" She called. He walked slowly up to the stool and sat down. She placed the hat on his head. After a few moments of silence the hat shouted "Gryffindor!!" Sirius was relieved. He had argued with the Sorting Hat about Gryffindor and Slytherin and now he was finally away from the evilness. There were loud cheers from the Gryffindor table as Sirius Hurried over to his table.

"Clarkson, Melanie." A short pale girl walked up and put the hat on her head. "Slytherin!" it shouted as she jumped down off of the stage to join the table.

"Darlington, Emma" The plump girl made her way up to the stool shyly. She sat down for a moment and the hat called out "Gryffindor!" once again.

John Davids was sorted into Ravenclaw along with Megan Ian, Sherry Goldings and Nicholas Prewitt.

Lily, Alexis, Belle, Remus and Peter were all sorted into Gryffindor.

"Potter, James" McGonagall called. He edged his way to the stool and sat down. "Another Potter? Well why don't we just put you where you belong. Gryffindor!!" James beamed and made his way to an open place next to Sirius.

A man with a long silvery beard and twinkling blue eyes stood up. "Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" He announced, beaming and looking through the sea of students. "I'd like to welcome all first years. A note to all students, the forbidden forest is off limits to all. Classes start on September third so you have two days to prepare. And now that I can see that you are all extremely hungry, tuck in!"

The table filled with pumpkin pasties, potatoes, yams, chicken, ham and much much more. The first years gasped in amazement and began scavenging up as much as they figured their stomachs could keep in.

After a long meal and feeling full to the bursting, Dumbledore stood up again and the hall fell silent. "Would the prefects take the first year to their new common rooms?" Dumbledore asked. The hall was filled with scraping benches and the shuffling of feet.

After taking many confusing turns around many corners and taking many moving staircases, they finally made it to a portrait of a fat lady in a pink puffy dress who seemed to be attempting to sing opera.

"Hold on one moment!" she squealed when the prefect had tried to say the password. "Just one more verse!" she insisted. When she saw the first years proceed to cover their ears she opened the door half-heartedly and heaving a disgruntled sigh.

They all walked and a sharp intake of breath was held. "Omigosh! This place is absolutely wonderful!" Belle exclaimed excitedly, Sirius watching her once again. She saw him out of the corner of her eye and turned a deep shade of red. He broke contact with her and looked to the ground.

"The girl's dormitories are up the left staircase and the boy's are up the right" said Mark, the male Gryffindor prefect. "And the washrooms are connected to the dormitories" added Bethany, the female prefect. The two walked away to join some friends.

"So do you er want to meet us back downstairs?" James asked Lily and her friends. She smiled and nodded as both groups headed up each set of stairs.

The boys walked into a circular dorm with four beds. "I call the one by the window!" Sirius exclaimed and jumped through the hangings and onto the bed. The boys dashed around the room trying to figure out whose bed was whose.

They finally got themselves sorted out and walked down the stairs and into the common room. They spotted some armchairs and a couch that were open by the fire. They sat down only to hear giggling coming from the staircase from the girls side.

"He's so cute!" Sirius heard Belle saying as she walked down the stairs. The rest of the girls giggled with her and bounced down the staircase. They walked over to the boys and sat down, Belle beside Sirius and Lily beside James. Alexis and Emma sat on a side of an armchair that Remus and Peter were each on.

"So what do you girls think of Hogwarts?" James asked, directing the question towards Lily, but having Alexis answer it. "It's gorgeous" she answered briefly. It was the first time any of them had heard her talk the whole time there, well any of the guys.

After a half an hour of talking about how magnificent they thought the school was, Peter found a chess board underneath of the coffee table. "Anyone up for a game?" he asked while putting the board on the table and setting the pieces up. Sirius finally began to lighten up and accepted the challenge.

"Peter my boy, you are going down this game of chess, for I am the master. Now let me show you how it's done" Sirius bragged.

Much to Sirius's disliking, he lost the game. Peter was a great chess player. After the loss of Sirius, Belle decided to take him on. After all, back at her old school she had won the wizarding chess championship. She was sure this wouldn't be too difficult.

She, to Sirius's surprise, won. But just barely. Peter was a machine, and quite upset when he lost. After a few more games of chess, the eight decided that they should probably get to bed and spend the next day exploring what Hogwarts had to offer them.

They boys bid the girls good-bye and both James and Sirius watched the girls walk up the staircases sleepily. Once they had reached their door, Sirius and James turned and walked up to their room.

"So, you fancy Belle?" James asked Sirius out of nowhere. "N-no!" Sirius spluttered. "No one said I was interested in girls, After all, we're only 11. But what about you with Lily Evans?" Sirius asked jokingly.

James breathed in and held it for a moment before finally letting it go. "I'm going to marry her one day" he said confidently.

"You're mental, mate" Sirius snorted and walked into their room.

"But she's absolutely amazing!" James exclaimed dreamy eyed.

"You don't stand a chance" Remus said while throwing a pillow in his direction.

Peter laughed and agreed.

"You just wait" James said. "She'll be mine. Someday."

And with that closing sentence, the boys turned off the lights and slowly drifted off to sleep.

** A/N> -> Hope you liked. These things take a long time to write and it isn't always hard with my friend nagging me to hurry up on msn. haha just kidding Sam I still love you. Thanks for all the great reviews and keep them coming! More will hopefully be up soon!**


	3. Caught

**Thanks for the reviews! Hope you enjoy this one and keep reading and reviewing!**

**_Caught_**

The next day was spent exploring the castle to see what it had to offer. James and Sirius woke up especially early in hopes to see the two girls they had their eyes set on. Remus on the other hand, although he had noticed Alexis right away, knew that he was never capable of falling in love with his condition. It was even hard to be close to his new friends like this. He wanted to tell them every little detail, but he knew that it wasn't the least bit possible.

Sirius and James sat in the common room, not knowing if they should make an attempt to find the Great Hall or if they should stay put until someone older came down and helped them to their location. They decided to sit and wait. They sat in silence until Lily and Alexis came down the stairs. James seemed to perk up pretty quickly, leaving Sirius to brood.

"Do you remember where the Great Hall is?" James asked Lily. She shook her head 'no' while stifling a yawn and falling back on the couch and attempting to stay awake.

About fifteen minutes later a boy with light blonde hair came down the stairs from the second year dorms. He looked over at the four first years that were sitting on the couch and rubbed his eyes and then look over to the clock.

"What are you four doing up so early?" he asked. He plopped down in an armchair across from where Lily was sitting on the couch.

"We couldn't sleep" James said.

"Too much excitement" Alexis added.

Lily, James, and Sirius all turned and stared at Alexis with looks of disbelief on their faces. She stared back at them with a look of confusion.

"What?" She asked. "Is there something on my face?" She asked again holding a hand up to her face.

"You were quiet all day yesterday and had us thinking that you were a mute, and you chose to speak up now?" James asked.

Alexis shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a little…" she glanced over towards Sirius and back to James again. "Shy" she finished.

Lily looked at Alexis for a moment and then shook her head. She then leaned back on the couch lazily once more. James watched her contently then finally snapping out of his trance and noticing the blonde boy watching Lily. "What did you say your name was again?" James blurted out of nowhere.

"Oh, It's Josh" he said still looking at Lily. "And I'm going to assume that you're all first years" he said. Lily nodded. "And you're in second year?" She said with interest. James took slow breaths to calm himself from the flirting that was taking place between Josh and Lily. Josh nodded that yes indeed he was a second year and then added that the reason why he was up at this hour was because he wanted to practice on his quidditch skills so he could try out for the team.

"Quidditch?" Lily questioned with a furrowed brow. "Muggleborn?" Josh asked. Lily nodded. James was shocked. She didn't seem the type to be muggleborn. He could've sworn that she was a pureblood. "I understand" Josh said kindly to her. Lily flushed. Josh took one of her hands in his. "It's only blood, what the difference if you're a witch and you're in Gryffindor." Lily smiled at him which made James even more jealous.

Josh let o of Lily's hand. "Say, why don't you come with me to the quidditch pitch and I can explain all about quidditch and maybe even take you for a ride on my broom" he said hopefully. Lily beamed. "I'd like that very much" she said. Josh grinned at her. "Great, I'll go and get my stuff and meet you down here." And with that he dashed back up the stairs.

Sirius glanced over to the clock. It was only 7:30. Lily rushed up to her dorm to get her cloak. She came back down and met Josh. They exited together, smiling and talking happily. James stared after them.

"I'm going to follow them" James said while walking to the portrait hole. "Why?" Alexis asked simply. "I don't trust him" James said while pushing the portrait hole open. "You two do whatever you want. I'll see you later." And with that he snuck out and closed the portrait hole quietly.

"So…" Sirius began. "Want to go exploring?" he asked. Alexis gave him a small smile. "Sure, why not?" she said and the two left the common room.

James followed the two quietly through the many twists and turns that Hogwarts had to offer. They finally reached the great oak doors and walked outside, James not too far behind.

They walked across the grounds close together. Too close in James' opinion. They walked towards a large quidditch pitch with tall stands all around that were decorated with the house animals and house colors. James stood in the shadows as Josh clambered onto his broomstick.

"Get on behind me" he said to Lily as she climbed on the back of the broom. "I warn you" she said grabbing onto his shoulders. "I've never done this before, and I'm very afraid of heights." He smiled to himself. "Don't worry, I'll make sure you don't fall" he said moving her hands to around his waist.

James watched as she locked her fingers in place around Josh. James sat down on the ground and watched them take off into the cloudless sky. James pushed himself into the shadows even more so that Josh and Lily would hopefully not see him.

They stayed close to the ground at first so that Lily would get used to flying. They slowly made their way up higher and Lily pressed herself closer to Josh and holding on even tighter. She closed her eyes from her fear of heights and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Look down at the view" Josh said softly with his head tilted back towards her.

She looked down at the scene and gasped at the gorgeous sight that was all around her. The beautiful castle stood in the sunlight, the sparkling lake with the tentacles arising from it, the forbidden forest, the quidditch pitch with James Potter hiding in the shadows, the… Wait a minute. What is James doing in the shadows, and watching me? Lily thought to herself.

"Take me down please, Josh" she said, her temper slowly rising. Why would he be spying on me? She asked herself. They finally got to the ground and Lily hopped off of the broom and marched straight to where James was hiding. He saw her coming and panicked. He sunk down lower in the shadows, hoping she would walk by and that her mad face was from a fight that she and Josh had.

"James Potter! What the bloody hell do you think you're doing watching me from the shadows! It's invasion of privacy! It's absurd! You are completely and totally arrogant! I can't believe you would sink so low to spy on us!" She screamed.

Josh came up behind Lily and sneered at James. "What's he doing here?" he asked Lily and put a hand on her shoulder.

"That's what I'm waiting to find out" Lily snapped, waiting for an explanation.

"Well, explain yourself!" She yelled, her face turning redder.

"I don't trust him" James said looking down at the ground.

"How can you not trust him? You don't even know him!!!" Lily screamed.

"You're talking about me not knowing him? Well what about him not knowing you?" James said impatiently.

"What are you talking about?" Lily breathed.

"You know very well what I'm talking about. All you two have done since you've met this morning has been flirting. He's been looking at you all day so far and he doesn't even know you. At least I know you more then him."

She looks shocked. "He's not the only one who's been watching me, but have I said anything about you? No! Because I didn't mind because I thought you were a nice guy, but you are a jerk, James Potter! Stay away from me! I want nothing to do with you! You have no right to tell me how to live my life!"

And with that she turned on her heel and stormed back up to the school, Josh following right behind her with calming words.

James sighed and sat back down on the ground with his head buried in his arms. This was going to be a long seven years.

Alexis and Sirius had been walking in silence for quite sometime until Sirius finally spoke up.

"So what's the deal with you being so quiet?" He asked.

"I'm not one to start a subject" she shrugged and continued walking.

They started to walk down some stairs when they started to move. As they shifted, Alexis and Sirius bumped into each other and fell over next to each other.

After the stairs stopped moving they found themselves in the entrance hall. It was at that moment when Lily stormed in completely enraged.

"This is where I leave you" Alexis said to Sirius and followed Lily and Josh to the Great Hall.

Sirius walked outside, towards the Quidditch Pitch where James was sitting in the shadows.

"What happened?" Sirius asked as he approached James.

"She doesn't love me" James said dumbfounded.


	4. A Change for James

**Thanks for all of the awesome reviews! Keep em coming!**

**NOTE: I HAVE SKIPPED TO FIFTH YEAR SO I COULD ADD MORE ROMANCE AND MISCHEIVIOUSNESS!**

"James Potter!" Lily's voice screeched through James's dining room. "Keep your bloody undergarments at your own house over the summer as I do not need them owled to me. In fact I don't even need to seem them. Take a hint a leave me alone!"

The echoing voice ended and James turned and looked over to Sirius who was sitting on the couch with a huge grin on his face.

"Sirius…you didn't…did you?" James asked with his mouth hanging open slightly, looking at his best friend in disbelief.

"James, when are you going to learn that she doesn't like you and never will? This was just an example of what Sirius Black can do to reveal the truth. So I suggest you listen to the woman and keep you and your urges away from her" Sirius said with a satisfactory smile, hoping that he had finally made it through to James's dim-witted brain.

But unfortunately for Sirius, the message hadn't gotten through to James and he was at it again, rambling about how Lily would realize her true love for him soon. Maybe if he showed her what he was capable of with his magic skills, then she would possibly change her mind about him.

"Sirius, if I just show her what I can do, then I know she will come running to my arms and smother me with kisses." James sighed. "It will be the best day of my life!"

Sirius rolled his eyes. His friend was impossible. He was hopeless. He never learned.

"James, you've been after her since the first day of the first year, and she's rejected you every time. And here we are, about to start our fifth year of Hogwarts, and oh look, she still doesn't want you!" Sirius exclaimed.

An owl flew in through the window bearing two letters. Sirius stood up and collected them. James looked at him curiously.

"Hogwarts letters" Sirius grunted and handed one to James who tore it open.

"Looks like we need to go to Diagon Alley sometime soon, considering school starts in a week. Maybe we'll see Lily there" James said hopefully.

"James! Open your eyes. She doesn't want you! Every other girl in the school does, so give it a rest with Lily and go for someone else. Go for Belle or Emma or Alexis or someone, anyone! But leave Lily out of it!" Sirius yelled.

"No other girls like me" James declared.

Sirius sighed. "James, when we go back to Hogwarts, actually open your eyes. They're all swooning over you. And me too. Well mainly me, but you have a lot of them after you too!"

James shook his head. "Sirius, I think you're wrong mate. Personally I think I'm going to be alone forever."

"That's it" Black snapped. "We're going to Diagon Alley now and you are going to actually open your eyes to the females all around you and see that they want you. Because many of them do, but none of you have confronted you about it because of your Lily obsession."

"That's ridiculous, Sirius" James said.

"Mrs. Potter, we're going to Diagon Alley" Sirius yelled into the Den where she sat quietly reading a novel.

"Ok dear" she said turning a page of her book.

Sirius grabbed the jar off of the mantel and took a bit of floo powder out and handed it to James. "You first Jamsie-poo" he said with a smirk on his face.

James took a handful of floo powder and stepped into the fireplace, threw the powder down and said "Diagon Alley." Sirius followed him shortly and they ended up in Flourish & Blotts.

The two boys walked towards Gringotts, Sirius giving each girl he saw a cheesy grin or a flirtatious smile, and sometimes even a wink.

"What are you doing?" James chuckled watching his friend make a fool of himself.

"It's called flirting, you do that to girls who like you and sometimes, by the end of the day, you get yourself a brand new snogging partner" Sirius said proudly.

After the long ride through the passages of Gringotts, and feeling a bit on the sick side, they decided to sit down on a picnic table outside of an ice-cream shop.

Sirius continued flirting with any girl that passed by, but James still had Lily stuck in his head. Sirius looked over, only to find James staring off into space.

He sighed and snapped a finger in front of James. "Snap out of the Lily trance and focus on the girls around you. They're just as good, if not, better!" Sirius exclaimed.

James turned to see a group of six girls looking at both boys expectantly. James couldn't believe his eyes at how so many of them were paying attention to both of them.

"Maybe you're right Sirius" James said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. "It might be possible that you are right."

** >>>>**

After a long and sickening ride in one of those muggle contraptions that Mr. Potter had said was a car, they had finally made it to Kings Cross, slightly green though. They made their way through the barrier and crossed over to Platform 9 3/4. James and Sirius both smiled cheekily to any girl who passed, making them blush easily.

"I see you've finally got your mind off of…oh what was her name? Libby?" Mrs. Potter asked.

"Lily, Mrs. Potter. And we must be careful not to say the "L" word in front of him or he might return to the dark side of obsession" Sirius commented, making both Mr. and Mrs. Potter chuckle.

Mrs. Potter turned to look at the clock to reveal that they only had five minutes until the train was supposed to leave. She pulled them both into a tight embrace.

"Please try to stay out of trouble this year James. And you to Sirius" She said.

"We'll try our best, but we make no guarantees" Sirius said grinning.

Mr. Potter stuck out his hand and both boys shook it before taking off for the train.

They found themselves an empty compartment, waiting for Remus and Peter to come and find them. As they predicted, not much longer, the familiar mousy haired boy, only all grown up, walked in.

"Where's Remus?" James asked Peter who sat down across from the other two.

"Haven't you heard?" he asked excitedly.

"Heard what?" Both James and Sirius asked at the same time.

"Remus has been made prefect" Peter said clasping his hands together as if attempting to contain his excitement for his friend.

Sirius shrugged and looked over to James. "Suits him, doesn't it? He and Peter were always the ones that weren't up for trouble making if they could help it."

Peter cleared his throat. "I am sitting right here you know. I can hear everything you're saying."

Sirius ignored his comments. "You still haven't told us where he is, Peter."

"Well he's in the Prefect cart of course. Where else would he be? He and Lily are both there. They are both Gryffindor prefects this year, which means all of your fun is going down the drain with Lily on patrol."

"Go easy on the "L" word, Peter my friend" Sirius said. "Our dear Jamsie has forgotten about her and moved on."

Peter stared at James wide-eyed. "Really? Wow, it took you five years of thinking that she actually loved you when everyone knew it was a hopeless case…"

"Off of the topic about my love life. Now, Mr. Pettigrew, did you get the courage to ask Emma out yet?" James asked Peter who turned bright red.

"Not yet…" Peter began.

"What do you mean 'not yet'?" Sirius asked. "You spent the whole bloody summer at the same camp ground, and you didn't ask her out yet?"

Peter shook his head no when the door opened and Emma, along with Belle and Alexis, walked in and sat down.

"Do you mind if we sit here?" Belle asked. "I can't seem to find Ben anywhere, and these two are waiting for Lily to get out of the prefects meeting" she said, indicating to the other two.

"Ben who?" Sirius asked in interest.

"Ben Campbell, he's a Ravenclaw and my boyfriend" she said proudly.

Sirius frowned slightly but perked up when Alexis sat beside him. "What about you?" he asked her. "Are you still single?" he crossed his fingers behind his back.

"You betcha" she said, pulling her hair back.

SCORE! His mind silently pumped a fist in the air.

Emma sat down next to Remus who turned a deep shade of red.

"Long time no see, right Peter?" she chuckled to herself, making him laugh nervously, turn even more red, then turn to the window, staring at the scenery that they passed.

They talked for a good portion of the afternoon and neither Lily or Remus showed up. They figured that they decided to stay by themselves or maybe the meeting was running long.

Ben had finally decided to go looking for Belle and found her in the compartment with Sirius Black and James Potter, Hogwarts most wanted bachelors. He scowled at the two boys and led her out.

Alexis stood up to leave but Sirius grabbed her waist. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked in his flirty voice.

"Well I didn't think you'd want Emma and I around after Belle left, but if you insist" she said sitting down next to him, his arms still around her.

She giggled and blushed and leaned in closer to Sirius.

"I really did miss you in that last week that we had left the camp, Peter. It wasn't the same without you there" Emma said and batted her eyelashes at him.

His heart quickened at the sound of her voice. "I missed you too" he said to her.

She took hold of her hand and he blushed and ran his thumb along her fingers. James and Sirius grinned at each other which Alexis saw. She laughed.

"Am I missing something here?" she asked.

"Just my lips against yours" Sirius said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Alexis blushed as he leaned in closer and kissed her softly on the lips. She leaned back into him after they were finished and he held her tightly.

"So! Alexis! Are you and Belle still planning on staying on the quidditch team with me and Sirius?" James asked.

She nodded. "Why would we give it up?" she asked him, slightly confused.

"Well I didn't think you would quit, but since Belle has a boyfriend now on an opposing quidditch team, I didn't know if she would stay and play against him or not. If you would've said you were going to quit I don't know what would have happened. It's impossible to replace you. You're a wicked beater."

Sirius cleared his throat and looked at James.

"And so are you of course Sirius" he laughed.

Peter looked at his watch. "We're going to be there soon. Should we go get changed?" he asked.

"Not all at once. Don't wanna lose our spot. You three go first, Alexis and I will stay here" he said with a sly smile.

The three left to get changed, leaving Alexis and Sirius all alone.

"Now, where were we?" Sirius asked with his sly smile, leaning in closer. A great start, to a great year, Sirius thought to himself.

When the Peter, Emma and James came back, they walked in to find Alexis and Sirius snogging.

"Our turn already?" Sirius said, his hair more messy than usual.

James nodded as Sirius grabbed Alexis by the hand and led her out of the compartment at a pretty quick pace.

Sirius and Alexis didn't come back for the remaining half hour. James figured they were going at it in the dressing rooms and didn't bother to go look for them. He was stuck with Peter and Emma who were giving each other lovey dovey eyes.

The train finally stopped and James rushed to get off of the train. When he reached the fresh air outside, he saw her.

Flowing red hair and the perfect body. Lily Evans stood 15 feet away from him, and he did nothing but stare.


	5. Arguments and Invisibility Cloaks

**_Sorry it took me so long. But heres the next chapter! Please R&R!!_**

Deciding it wouldn't be best to miss the sorting and the feast or that one of the teachers would notice that Alexis and Sirius were missing, they decided to go to the Great Hall, but held hands the whole time. Sirius would just take her a little more private and secluding after the feast.

Kissing Alexis was different for him. No girl had ever kissed him like that before. Maybe he would make it a permanent thing with her. Yes, he thought. I'll ask her to be my girlfriend tonight. How can she say no?

Belle and Ben were making googly eyes at each other from the separate tables. She must really have it bad for him, Sirius thought to himself.

At that moment he did a very brave thing. He put his arm around Alexis's waist and received many horrified stares from many girls from many different houses. He gulped as she leaned her head against his shoulder, but kept his grip on her.

No one was used to Sirius being attached to just one girl at one time. He was never like that. He was never committed to just one girl, infact he had never been committed to any girl as long as he lived. Sirius Black was a known playboy. And now that rumor had gotten around that James wasn't into Lily anymore, girls were more flirtacious and forward with him.

Sirius looked across the table at James during the sorting and had noticed him staring in the direction of Miss Lily Evans. Sirius sighed and rolled his eyes.

"He'll never learn," Sirius mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" Alexis asked while looking up at him from his shoulder.

"James," Sirius said quietly. "He claims he's over Lily but just look at him," Sirius pointed towards James.

Alexis sighed. "It's so sweet how much he likes her. They'll be together one day. As much as she hates to admit it I know she feels something for him," she said while placing her chin in her hands that were placed on the table.

Sirius looked at her in disbelief. "What are you talking about? Lily despises James. She always has and always will. There's no way that they'll be together."

Alexis looked back over at James. "You just wait, Sirius. Don't say I didn't tell you so."

James sat staring at Lily. His mouth was slightly ajar and his mind was swimming with thoughts of how he could win her over. He didn't care anymore what Sirius had to say about him not standing a chance with Lily. He would get her, one way or another. Sooner or later, preferably sooner if possible.

But how was he going to win her over? He and Sirius were the smartest boys in their wear along with Remus and she hadn't noticed him for that. Well what if he showed her exactly how clever he was by performing hexes and spells on other students in the hallways whenever she passed? That would have to work.

He could just picture himself putting the bat bogey hex on Snivellus and having Lily rush over to him and planting kisses all over him, exclaiming how much she had always secretly wanted him and wanted him bad right at that moment. James grinned at the thought of it.

"Now that the sorting is finished with, and the rules have been dealt with, I urge you all to tuck in!" Dumbledore exclaimed and sat back down in his chair as many platters of different dishes appeared on plates on all of the tables. The clanking of forks and knives filled the hall along with much conversation being passed between everyone.

Remus turned to James and started asking about how his summer was and such. James merely mumbled that his summer had been fine and hoped that Remus' wasn't as bad as it usually was.

"Well, my parents found a potion that eases the pain of transformation and helps me try to stay calm while I'm in werewolf form," Remus whispered in a low voice so only James could hear him. "It works quite well and I wish I had it with me here, but unfortunately I don't. Have you found out anything about your animagi transformations and what you're doing wrong?" Remus asked.

James shook his head and turned back towards Lily. Remus chuckled at his friend. He was pretty strange and didn't stand a chance with Lily. Everyone knew it. Even James knew it but wouldn't admit it to himself. Some things would never change.

Remus then turned his attention to Peter and his new found love. Emma was babbling on about something that was making Peter turn as red as a cherry tomato. They deserve each other, he thought to himself with a slight smile on his face.

He took a look at Sirius and Alexis. To Remus, it just didn't seem right. Sirius would seem more fit with someone like Belle. Alexis should belong with him, and definitely not Sirius. Remus saw the way Sirius has always looked at Belle since first year.

He's had plenty of chances to ask her out, yet he always messes up, Remus thought. Maybe if Sirius would've asked Belle out like he had planned, then he'd have Alexis and things would be different. Oh well, can't change things now.

After a filling meal, Dumbledore stood up and clasped his hands together and smiled warmly at the sea of eager students.

"Another year has begun, and I would like to welcome you all back once again. And for the first years, welcome to Hogwarts!" He beamed at the students, his face shining with pride and joy.

His face suddenly turned serious and a line on the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Being the headmaster of this school it is my job to inform you of the dangers that have been happening over the past few years. Lord Voldemort," The hall shuddered. "Has indeed been trying to gain power and rid the world of those who are not purebloods."

There was a sudden exchange of many terrified glances throughout the Great Hall. People started to babble and conversation began to pick up quite loudly until Dumbledore raised a hand to silence everyone.

"I shall make it clear to all of you; you are all safe in the castle. Let no one tell you differently. Voldemort," another flinch, "has been told that if he comes into the Hogwarts grounds then he will have to face me along with the rest of the staff."

A few Slytherins were looking at Dumbledore as if he was a crazy fool for thinking that he had more power than the Dark Lord himself. It was impossible!

Both James and Sirius turned their attentions to the smirking Slytherins and sent glares in their direction. Sirius had his eyes locked onto his brother Regalus'. After finding out that Regalus had decided to follow Bellatrix and Narcissa and was now being trained to help this so called "Lord" Voldemort. Sirius personally thought this was sick.

After Dumbledore had finished going on about the school rules again, and the school song was sung, the prefects were to lead the first years to their new common rooms. James and Peter walked behind Remus and the first years, and just as Alexis was about to follow them too, Sirius took hold of her hand and led her to a more secluded place.

Remus and Belle turned around to watch the two walk out the door from their different points in the Great Hall. Each thinking the same thing. That the other should belong to them and not the other.

James sighed and fell back on an arm chair in the Gryffindor common room. He truly thought he was over Lily Evans, but came to find that he couldn't even look at her without falling in love with her all over again.

He loved the way her red hair fell down her back and her green eyes sparkled with whatever emotion filled her at the moment.

James watched her, eyes filled with wanting. The girls who had been shamelessly flirting with him at Diagon Alley noticed him staring at Lily again and just rolled their eyes and backed away. He'd soon see the truth.

He watched Lily talking with Belle and Emma and turned to look at him. She noticed him staring and sent him a deadly glare and turned back to her friends. The glare didn't affect him at all and he continued to stare at her longingly and she noticed. She became infuriated with annoyance said a quick goodnight to her two friends and stormed up the stairs, James eyes following her the whole way.

Peter and Remus came over to him. "Why do you even bother, mate?" Peter asked. James merely mumbled something that was completely and totally not capable of being understood.

Sirius and Alexis finally climbed up the last few stairs of the Astronomy tower. Sirius sat down against the wall and leaned back. Alexis slid down next to him and he entwined his fingers with hers. She blushed lightly in the moonlight.

"So, Mr. Black" she chuckled. "Why did you seduce me into coming up to the tower alone with you?"

Sirius' throat tensed up and he quickly cleared it while putting his other hand on top of the one he was holding tightly.

"I erm wanted to ask you something" Sirius mumbled and looked to the cobblestone floors.

She smiled shyly at him and he gulped.

"I was erm wondering if erm uhh you would like to bemygirlfriend" he put the last few words together quickly.

He looked down to the floor only to have Alexis bring his face up and start kissing him feverishly. After many minutes like this, Sirius finally pulled away. "I'll take that as a yes then" he said, being pulled back into their snogging session.

Sirius and Alexis made it back to the common room just past curfew. They both had their hair slightly messed up and Sirius was wearing quite the goofy smile.

Just then Lily stormed down the stairs, and she did not looked thrilled at the two showing up at the common room late.

"Where have you two been?!" she hissed. "It's 7 minutes past curfew! You should've been back here 7 minutes ago!"

James walked over with his hands in his pockets. "Jeez Lily, calm down. It's only 7 minutes" he said, trying to calm her down, but seeing as she was in a bad mood as it was and already stressed to the max from the first years, this did not help her one bit. Infact, it made things, if possible, even worse.

"Potter, if you think for one minute I'm not going to punish these two, then you have something else coming for you, don't you?" she snapped at him.

"You're going to put one of your best friends in trouble because she was 7 minutes late? Come on cut them some slack!" James snapped back at her.

"Cut her some slack?! While she was out with HIM!?" she spat.

Sirius looked shocked and taken aback.

"Lily Evans! What have I ever done to you?" Sirius asked with the most innocent eyes she's ever seen.

"You're friends with him!" she indicated towards James whose jaw immediately dropped. "And you have both been show offs since you both started school here. You with your potions and beater skills, and James with his talents in transfiguration and chaser. You both make me sick!"

Everyone in the common room turned to look at the argument that the four of them were now in. At this point Remus decided to stride over to see what was going on.

"And you, Potter, why the hell do you always ruffle your hair? Nobody likes it!" There were a few giggles from some other girls in sixth and fourth year. They certainly seem to enjoy it, James thought.

And then, to deliberately make her even more befuddled and mad, he took one of his hands and ruffled his hair ever so slightly. If possible, she turned even redder while the sounds of love struck sighs were made from the other girls.

Lily then turned to Remus. "You figure out what these two deserve for a punishment" she said. "I'm going to the prefect's bathroom to take a nice long bath and get the stress off of my back."

Remus nodded and added "Do you even know the password?"

She looked to the floor. "Well, you see, I may have possibly forgotten…"

"Bubblebath" he whispered, thinking only Lily could hear him but James and Sirius had heard to and exchanged grins.

Lily nodded her thanks and left. Remus looked to the three of them trying not to let his eyes linger on Alexis too long. "Well?" she asked. "Can we go?" he nodded and looked to James and Sirius.

"What do you boys have planned tonight?" he asked as James and Sirius walked up towards the dorm with Remus following. James opened his trunk and pulled out his invisibility cloak his father had given him in his first year and covered himself and Sirius.

"We're going to play a little game of terrorize Gryffindor's female prefect" Sirius said with a grin and disappeared under the cloak.

Remus shook his head and clambered into bed, not wanting to know what the boys had in store for Miss Evans.


	6. Pranks and Lucius

James and Sirius made it out of the common room without anyone hearing them. They managed to get through the portrait hole when two seventh years came in. James could smell the fire whiskey on their breath and knew that they'd have a terrible hangover in the morning. Luckily for them, they wouldn't be starting classes for a few days. It was always like that so that the first years could get used to their new environment and the second years and up to catch up with their friends.

After many years of exploring the school itself, James and Sirius knew many shortcuts and they knew one that lead straight to the prefect's bathroom and they'd be able to get there before Lily got there.

Over their summer together, and many days spent at Diagon Alley, they found a book or pranking charms and curses that were legal and simple to use. What a great time to put it into action. Sirius clutched the book in his grip while James held the cloak over them. "This is going to be great!" James grinned. Sirius grinned back and agreed with him.

They finally came to the prefect's bathroom and gave the password and slipped inside. They gasped as they saw a huge swimming pool but quickly hid behind a plant, forgetting that they were still invisible.

A few moments later Lily came in and locked the door behind her and heaved a sigh. She took her robe off leaving her in tight jeans with holes in the knees and a light pink t-shirt. James stared with his mouth wide open as she kept undressing until she was left with nothing but her towel wrapped around her. James grinned as she took the towel off and sat at the edge of the pool stalk naked.

"Now I can see why you like her" Sirius whispered teasingly to James who swatted his hand at Sirius. "Shut up" he hissed loud enough for only Sirius to hear. They had to be careful about echoing in the bathroom because the room was so big.

Lily finally slipped down into the water and started playing with the random taps that were issuing bubbles of random smells, shapes and sizes.

They edged closer to the taps as she started to swim around at the other side of the pool and tapped the wand and muttered a curse and went back farther away to see what was soon to come.

"Sirius, I don't think I can do this to her" James whispered, still gawking at Lily's body. "Deal with it" Sirius murmured as Lily came back to the taps and turned the one which the curse was cast upon.

Before realizing what was coming out of the tap, Lily dunked underwater to get her hair back. When she came up she felt herself being covered with a thick, horrible smelling, sticky liquid. She opened her eyes and saw herself covered in blood. She screamed, making it echo off of the wall and scrambled out of the pool as Sirius muttered the counter curse.

She finally stopped screaming and looked down to what used to be her blood covered body and found that there was only water dripping off of her. She looked in the pool and didn't see any blood anywhere. She eyed the pool for a few more minutes and then clambered back in.

She started to calm down once again and started swimming laps. Sirius pulled James towards the edge of the pool once more. "Sirius, no more! That was enough!" James hissed. "One last spell?" Sirius asked his friend with pleading eyes. James rolled them and finally agreed. "As long as she doesn't find out it was us who did this to her."

Sirius tapped the water and muttered another charm. Lily had stopped swimming and was leaning against a wall of the pool, just letting her body flow in the calm water. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back.

Sirius and James watched as a figure came up from the bottom of the pool, its dead cold hand stuck out and ready to grab the first thing it came in contact with. It made its way towards Lily. Sirius grinned evilly while the color drained from James' face. The decay hand grabbed Lily's leg as she struggled and cried to get away, the arm just pulling her downwards. She finally got her leg free and scrambled out of the pool, wrapping a towel around herself and running in the direction of Professor Dumbledore's office.

Sirius and James crept over to the clothes that were left in a pile. Sirius handed James a pink and black silk matching set of bra and underwear. "Since you've been waiting so long for these from the love of your life, here's your chance and take them while you can, because that was probably the only time you'll ever see her without them on or in just those."

James rolled his eyes and took the book from Sirius as he gathered up all of Lily's clothes. She wasn't getting these back, oh no. Not after the way she treated them like dirt and practically made fun of he and Alexis being together.

They arrived back in the common room at 12:15. All was dark and quiet. Everyone had gone up to their dormitories to bed so they followed tout suite.

The next morning the boys woke up and smiled at each other. They had hidden her clothes under their beds and went to sleep. Pranking was such a long a tiring job for the both of them, but they enjoyed it.

After taking long, hot showers and getting dressed they went downstairs to find Belle, Alexis and Emma all crowded around a crying Lily. James and Sirius smirked at each other while Remus and Peter exchanged confused looks.

Alexis and Belle saw the four boys approaching and ran towards them.

"What's wrong with Evans?" Sirius asked Alexis innocently while snaking an arm around her waist and pulling her close for a hug.

"Oh she had a terrible fright in the prefect's bathroom last night and hasn't forgotten about it. Plus, someone saw her running to Dumbledore's office in nothing but a towel and started a stupid rumor that she wanted to give herself up to Dumbledore. Do you really think she's like that? It's stupid to think that a Prefect, especially one from Gryffindor, would give herself up to the Headmaster." Belle grumbled.

She turned and walked back towards Lily, all in a huff of what had happened. She sat down on the couch next to a sniffling Lily and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug, calmly telling her that everything would be alright soon enough and that it wasn't possible for anyone to believe that she, of all people, would sleep with the Headmaster.

Lily dabbed her eyes with a tissue and James felt a pang of guilt for doing what he did to Lily the previous night. James looked at his friends and noticed Remus looking at him with a suspicious expression as if he was eying him up.

"Come on," Sirius said. "Let's go get some breakfast!" He then turned to the girls on the couch. "Are you coming or are you going to stay up here and cry all day long because of some stupid rumor that isn't even true?" Sirius winked at Belle who blushed slightly. Alexis looked at Sirius and then to Belle for a moment then laid her head on Sirius' shoulder.

"Well" sniffed Lily. "If you insist…" she trailed off while getting off of the couch. She ran over to Sirius and flung her arms around him. "And I'm sorry for how I treated you last night." She moved over to James and hugged him too. "All of you."

They made their way down to the Great Hall, Lily staring at the ground as she entered and everything turned silent. They all sat down together at the table, receiving many stares throughout the hall. Conversation slowly began to pick up, but the eight Gryffindors still received many stares.

Alexis couldn't take it anymore and gave Sirius a quick peck on the cheek and walked over to the Ravenclaw table to join her friend Sibyll Trelawney. Both girls were deeply into divination and Alexis found that Sibyll was quite lucky to be the great-great granddaughter of Cassandra Trelawney who was known to be a very famous and very gifted seer.

"I knew you would sit over here" Sibyll said in her usual mystified voice. "I saw it in the card this morning" she added, looking up over her huge glasses.

Alexis sighed. "Yes, there's a lot of tension between my friends after a rumor that was started about Lily." She explained to Sibyll about what was being said about Lily and Professor Dumbledore.

"Yes I heard" Sibyll said. "Many people have been talking about it all morning. I, myself, know that it's not possible to be true. The only one low enough to do that would be a Slytherin, and Dumbledore wouldn't even go for it."

Alexis nodded. "Yeh, it's pretty pathetic."

Back at the Gryffindor table, everyone sat quietly eating their breakfast.

At that moment Lucius Malfoy, a very popular Slytherin seventh year, walked over to the table and sat down next to Belle. She had always found him attractive, but she had Ben now.

"My my Belle, how you've changed over the summer" he said and licked his lips while looking her over.

She blushed furiously as Sirius spoke up. "What are you doing here Malfoy? Nobody wants you around so why don't you just leave?"

"But I do believe Belle wants me around, isn't that right?" he said while stroking her cheek.

Just then there was a cough from behind Lucius and Ben squeezed his way between the two and placed his arm around Belle. She relaxed a little in his arms.

Lucius then turned to Lily. "So how was the old man?" he asked with an evil smirk plastered on his face as her eyes became filled with tears that she eagerly held back.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh please, everyone knows that you gave yourself up to Dumbledore last night. Severus saw you running in nothing but a towel and you were headed to his office. He said you looked quite eager too" he said with his famous and evil smirk.

"Back off, Malfoy" James growled, getting defensive. "Ooo is ickle Jamesy sticking up for ickle Lily? Why don't you stay out of this Potter and realize that she won't think any better of you if you stick up for her" Lucius said with a satisfied smirk.

"That's it!" James started to reach for his wand but Lily stopped him.

"He's right James. Did you honestly think that if you stood up for me then I'd start swooning over you like every other ridiculous girl does? Because that is never going to happen. I'm sorry but you're a prat and I would never think highly of you. It's almost impossible."

James looked shocked and a satisfied smile curled onto the lips of Lucius.

"And as for you" she said turning her attention to Lucius and slapping him hard across the face. "That's what you deserve."

He took hold of her arm and twisted it. "Watch yourself, mudblood. You aren't the only prefect this school has so stop thinking you're the shit because you aren't. If I were you, I'd watch your back."

Lucius stood up and started to walk away but placed a hand on Belles shoulder and held tightly onto it.

"And if you ever decide that you could do better than him" he said indicating to Ben. "Then let me know, because I will gladly fill that spot" he said looking wickedly into her eyes.

"I don't think that day will ever come Malfoy" Ben said, rising to his feet and turning to look at Lucius. Bens face became slowly more and more red.

"Really?" Lucius said with daring eyes. "I think the day may come soon than you think." He took Belles hands to his lips and kissed it.

Ben drew his wand. "Stay away from her Malfoy. We have no intentions of breaking up so just stay away from us." He growled.

"I know what you're doing, Ben" Lucius said with a hint of amusement in his voice. "You won't be able to keep it a secret much longer."

Belle looked at Ben as if to say 'What is he talking about?' but Ben avoided her eyes and kept a cold, hard stare at Lucius. Belle finally asked him what Lucius meant and Ben stayed quiet.

"You'll find out soon enough" Lucius said and winked to Belle then stalked back to the Slytherin table.

Ben sat down again, this time a little stiff and rigid, but still slid his arm right back into place.

Everyone looked around at each other, a little unsure of what was to come this year at Hogwarts.


	7. Smoked 'em real good

Over the next few days, Ben and Belle stayed in their own tight knit groups, away from each other. What Lucius had said about Ben had made Belle slightly suspicious of him, and she kept her eyes on him.

Lily had started to settle down about the prefect bathroom incident, but she still didn't enjoy being alone in a corridor or anywhere near that bathroom. She decided it would be better to just use the regular bathroom that was attached to the girls' dormitories than to go to all the trouble of having a bath in the prefect's bathroom.

Unfortunately for Lily though, the rumor of her sleeping with Dumbledore did not die down at all. Lily found her life turning upside down with this silly little rumor. Surely no one could actually believe this rumor, she had first thought when she first heard it. But boy was she wrong. She figured this matter would be taken to the professors to be dealt with.

And sure enough it was. About a week after the rumor had been started, Dumbledore stood up during dinner and the hall went silent.

"There has been a certain rumor going around about a certain student and myself which I would like to announce is not true" Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling. "Please take into consideration that if you've said anything along the lines of this rumor to her, then please apologize or there will be consequences."

After dinner was finished, the girls along with James, Sirius, Remus and Peter started to walk back to Gryffindor tower together. They walked by a broom closet where they could hear moaning and banging coming from.

Sirius grinned. "Well that's a snogging session if I ever did hear one, and trust me, I've heard them."

Alexis turned and swatted him lightly with her hand and they were all about to keep walking until they heard something else.

"Oh Ben," a girl moaned. "When are you going to dump that stupid Gryffindor, what's her name? Belle? Well, when are you going to tell her it's over and be with me?"

Belle backed up until she hit the wall and she slid down is until she was sitting. Sirius and James turned to the door and started pounding on it, but they guessed it had a silencing charm on it.

"Alohamora!" Lily shouted from across the hallway as the door vibrated and burst open to reveal Ben and another Ravenclaw girl that they had all recognized from Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her name was Cara Brick and at that current moment she was quite scantily clad. Luckily Ben still had all of his clothes on.

The color drained on Bens face when he saw everyone around him and Cara hurried to get her clothes back on. Ben saw Belle sitting against the wall and he looked like he was about to cry.

"Belle, it's not what it seems, I…"

But Belle decided to stop him.

"Don't bother trying to explain yourself Ben" she snapped at him.

"But Belle" he began.

WHAM

Ban sat on the floor clutching his face while Belle shook her hand for a moment, not believing that she had just smoked Ben clear across the face. She suddenly felt a bit better since she had hurt him, but it definitely wasn't as much hurt as there was in her heart at the moment.

Everyone gawked at Belle.

"Woah" Emma began. "Talk about Queen of the Damned."

Ben took hold of Cara's hand and then said "If that's how you're going to be then just forget about us all together, Belle. Cara was always better than you anyways; I just don't know why I didn't see it until now."

The two stalked down the hall in what seemed to be the direction of the Ravenclaw Common Room.

That's when the tears came. "I-I can't b-believe he ch-cheated on m-me" Belle wailed as they all walked slowly down the hallway.

Alexis turned to face Sirius for a moment. "Maybe you should let us handle this for a while until she calms down. Do you guys mind leaving us the common room for about an hour?" she asked sweetly. The four boys all nodded and turned and left the group of girls.

"What are we going to do now?" James asked.

"Upset that you won't be able to watch Miss Evans?" Sirius suggested.

"Shut up" James muttered as they walked along the hallways.

"Why don't you guys practice your animagi?" Remus suggested quickly, not wanting anything to start between Sirius and James at the moment.

The boys agreed and made their way to the Room of Requirements where they had made it their official practice spot. So far all they were capable of was growing a little extra hair, and Peter couldn't even do that much.

Once inside they all read through the books that appeared as usual, to try and figure out what they were doing wrong. One by one they had all stood up in the middle of the room and attempted it once more, the other three watching. Remus kept flipping through the pages rapidly to see if he could help them with any other information.

Nervously, and twitching slightly at the corner of his lip, Peter made his way to the center of the room and pointed his wand at the top of his skull and muttered the incantation.

Suddenly Peter shrank, taking the form of a small rodent. All of the boys gasped and gathered round him as his transformation finished and he was the form of a rat.

"Did either of you expect Peter to be the first one to transform?" Sirius whispered to the other two as Peter skittered back and forth trying to figure out how to turn normal.

Both boys shook their heads no.

"I honestly thought it would be you, James" Remus said and Sirius nodded. "You're top of transfiguration and Peter goes and beats you at something as big as this. You must feel terrible."

"Shut up" James muttered.

"Ooo careful" Sirius said to Remus. "Looks like it's that time of the month for someone right now."

James rolled his eyes and stormed over to a couch and picked up a book and flipped through it continuously. He then took his wand and muttered another incantation towards Peter who turned back into human form.

He was pale and frigid. "I never want to do that again" he whimpered. "It's horrid. I didn't even know how to turn back."

"That's why you research it before hand" James mumbled.

"Should we go back and check up on Belle?" Sirius asked shiftily. "I mean we've been here longer than the girls expected us and I think we should see how she's doing." Sirius looked to the floor.

The boys agreed and gathered their things and headed back up to the common room only to find it empty.

"Well this isn't good. We can't get up to the girls common room, and I really wanted to see how Belle was doing" Sirius said to himself.

James dropped his things and walked right up to Sirius. "What is wrong with you today?" he spat.

"What are you talking about?" Sirius questioned. "I think the real question is what crawled up your ass and died today, Mr. Huffy Pants?"

"Well excuse me if I have a problem with you being in love with Belle when you have a girlfriend, who is a really great girl. Why are you doing this to yourself and her? I know she can tell there's something up. She's like that. You forget she's into that divination stuff and can sense this kind of thing" James roared at him.

Sirius became enraged. "I am NOT in love with Belle!" he yelled. "I'm just worried because she's my friend and I feel bad for her."

"That's bullshit Sirius and you know it!" James yelled. "You've had your eyes on Belle since the train ride, but couldn't make a move because she was already taken. Everyone could see that!"

Remus looked over to the girl's stairs and saw Lily lurking in the shadows, but ignored it and watched the two boys go at it.

"Well what about you, James? You claim you're all over Lily, but you obviously aren't" Sirius paused for a second.

"Do you miss her body, Jamesy-poo?" Sirius hissed at James.

"What are you talking about?" James growled menacingly.

"That night in the Prefects bathroom. I saw you watching her when she was nekkid in that pool when we cursed it, as much as you didn't want to because you just wanted to watch her, didn't you?" Sirius said with an evil glint in his eyes.

"That is IT!" Lily screamed from the stair case. She stormed out to where they were both standing.

"It was you who did that?!" she screeched.

They both nodded solemnly and looked to the floor.

"So you cursed the pool did you Sirius?" Lily asked, trying to contain herself

He nodded. "Sorry Lily" he added quickly.

"You better be" she growled and then turned her attention to James.

"And you, you were watching me while I had no clothes on?!"

He nodded, but did not apologize.

She rolled her eyes and then decided that Belle was not going to be the only one to take charge tonight.

WHAM

She smoked James hard on the cheek. He stumbled backwards onto the couch and doubled over.

"Thanks for the apology that I didn't get, Jamesy-Poo."

Lily started to walk away but stopped for a moment and turned around.

"And don't think that I won't be going to Dumbledore about this."

After Lily left, James stood up. Sirius opened his mouth to speak but James stopped him.

"Don't speak to me Sirius. Just back off now before things get to insane" he said and headed towards the portrait hole again, pulling his invisibility cloak out of his bag and covering himself while exiting.


	8. The Bad Day

** A/N> I realize I haven't replied to reviews for this story for quite some time so since I have all afternoon and it'll take me like 15 minutes I shall do that right now. **

**Monica7725 -> In my mind, James is a bit warped, but all in all a good guy. So if he's warped, then his thoughts shall be warped. Of course you called Ben cheating on Belle. An Sirius and James aren't perverts shifty eyes they just like to keep their sexual options open. And one day Lily will realize she's madly in love with James sigh it'll be like a fairy tale...only with Voldemort rising to power...**

**Sam -> See I do love you! I'm writing our story and this one all at once cuz I wuv joo! Lol deal with what Sirius and James did to Lily shakes fist Hope youliked the knocking out of the boys lol. I had a feel You'd enjoy that lil detail. **

**brennqt14 ->As I stated to Monica...James is not a pervert...he likes to keep his sexual options open for him...plus he's an average 15 year old guy...what else would you expect? I thought i had put locking charm on the door not a silencing charm...but ok! And I've read too many stories where they need to help Peter transform, and i didn't like it so it had to be changed. Keep reading!**

**The Bad Day**

Sirius and James had avoided each other for several days, and Lily showed no sign that she had gone to the headmaster…yet. Remus decided he wasn't going to bother going back and forth between James and Sirius because he saw what it was doing to Peter who had decided to do so himself.

Peter was worn out and tired and could barely move each night before going to bed. He wanted to please both of his friends by meeting all of their demands which he found was quite the difficult task to do.

Sirius regretted what he was about to do, but for once, James had a point. He did love Belle, and he only thought she didn't take Lucius up on his offer. He asked Alexis to meet him up in the astronomy tower at 7:30. He didn't know if he should stick with snogging her for a while then breaking the news to her, or just breaking the news to her.

Sirius sighed and looked at his watch while pacing the tower. 7:20. Only ten minutes left to decide his plan of action. Maybe after all this was through then he'd try to make it up with James. He owed James. But he didn't know if James would listen to him so easily.

Alexis finally arrived, smiling and her swishing her hair around. Oh bloody hell, why did she have to be so pretty? This was going to be harder than Sirius thought. She instantly hugged him and planted a kiss on his cheek the moment that she saw him. Sirius sighed and took her hands.

"We need to talk" he said, avoiding her eyes.

Her face fell at those words. "Those are the worse four words that can ever be said in a relationship" Alexis said, her voice sounded slightly hurt.

Sirius pulled Alexis to the ground with him. She didn't look too pleased, and he wanted to do this in the most calm and subtle way he could do this.

"Look" he said, then sighing. "I don't think this is going to work out between us."

Alexis scowled. She definitely not pleased about this. She thought that she and Sirius were getting along fine…except, well, she had seen him flirting a lot with Belle, and she didn't help by flirting back, but Belle never knew when she was and wasn't flirting.

"And why" Alexis began while pursing her lips slightly "Do you think it isn't going to work out between us?" she asked.

"Well I umm" Sirius began, starting to become nervous at how expectant Alexis was being. "I don't know" he finally said. "We just don't click as well as I thought we did, ya know what I mean?"

Alexis scowled. "No Sirius, I don't know what you mean. I always thought we fit together pretty well, but I see now that I was wrong."

Alexis then stood up and walked down the astronomy stairs, leaving Sirius by himself.

Well, time to go make peace with James, Sirius thought and headed down the stairs several minutes later, thankful that he hadn't run into Alexis.

He walked into the common room to find that luckily none of the seventh year girls were there at all. He figured Alexis wanted to tell them all in private. Sirius found James sitting in an arm chair by himself, facing the fire. He seemed really out of it, his eyes swollen and red.

Sirius sat on the chair next to James's. "Look" Sirius said quietly, "I wanted to make peace. You were right, I do have a thing for Belle, and it wasn't fair what I was doing to Alexis. That's why I broke it off with her."

Sirius looked to the floor as James turned to him and sniffled. After examining Sirius for a few moments to make sure he wasn't lying, James turned his face back to the fire.

"And" Sirius added, "I wanted to say I'm sorry for ruining your chances with Lily. You're not crying over that, are you?" Sirius asked.

James shook his head no and handed Sirius an envelope that was addressed to the both of them. James hands were shaky and unsteady and he folded his hands the moment Sirius took the letter.

"Dear James and Sirius,

I regret having to tell you this in a letter and not myself, but your father was killed last night by Voldemorts Death Eaters. The Order sent him out on a task, but he was caught and killed almost immediately. I'm really sorry I had to tell you this. The funeral will be held on Saturday, and I have already sent a letter to Dumbledore requesting permission for the both of you to leave for that day, which he has graciously granted. Please come home on the train on Saturday morning. Much love.

Love, Your Mother"

The paper was tear stained, from whose tears Sirius really didn't know, except that his would very soon be added to it. His heart had stopped at the thought of Mr. Potter dead. It couldn't be true. It just wasn't possible.

"Oh my god, James I'm so sorry" Sirius said.

"Don't be" James said bitterly. "It's not your fault that he was murdered. It's that bloody Order's fault. They had to go and send him out when they most likely knew there would be Death Eaters lurking. Well I'm going to give the head of the Order a piece of my mind" James said, still looking into the fire.

James then turned to Sirius to face him. "Forget about that stupid fight we had about the girls. Life and death are much more important than them."

Sirius nodded. "So we're ok now?" he asked and James nodded.

"I'm going to bed" James said. "I have too much on my mind that I can't handle right now."

Sirius nodded and then decided to leave the common room to clear his mind.

He took James's invisibility cloak and stuffed it in his bag, not really thinking he'd care since he never has before. He left the common room and walked the halls that he knew so well. Maybe he'd run into someone he knew before curfew was over and he could chat it up with them.

Sirius walked along for a while by himself, his hands stuffed in his pockets. He then saw a classroom door open slightly and heard voices from inside. Being as curious as he was, he slipped the invisibility cloak on and slipped through the space where the door was opened.

He saw two figures in the back of the darkened class room. He then caught a glimpse of long, silvery hair on a very masculine figure. Malfoy, Sirius thought. What's he doing here? Sirius mentally questioned himself.

"Lucius, I really don't know. I mean I did just break up with Ben and all" Sirius heard Belle say.

Sirius almost gasped at the sound of her voice but held it in, waiting to see what else was said.

"Belle, I've liked you for so long and that stupid Ravenclaw had you. I just want my chance with you now." Sirius saw Lucius lean down and kiss Belles forehead.

"Well, I really don't know" Belle said slowly as she and Lucius moved closer right in front of Sirius' eyes.

"At least think about it" Lucius said in a low and deep voice, his lips moving closer to hers.

"Ok" Belle said closing the space between them as Sirius fled the room as silently and quickly as he possibly. This day had to be one of the worst that Sirius had ever had.


	9. Rejections

** A/N> I have way to many fanfics on the go! Sorry this has taken so long! I'm working on nit as fast as I can and as often as I can. **

**Monica7725 -> Everything will eventually get better! Don't worry!**

**brennqt14 -> Don't worry I'll try to put a prank in here somewhere to cheer things up!**

**Sam -> Everything makes you laugh, this is why i wuv joo you faggot :P**

**bobkat2007 -> Wow, i didn't realize I made Lucius like Draco. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Rejections**

It was the Saturday that James and Sirius would be leaving for the funeral. They were both in their dormitory packing, no words exchanged between the two as they were lost in their own little worlds of thought.

Sirius had not told James that he saw Belle with Lucius. At this point in time he figured James probably wouldn't care all that much. He had his own problems to deal with.

On the brighter side, Halloween was soon to be here. Two more weeks until that special night. And this years Head Boy and Girl decided to have a Halloween Ball for 3rd years and up on the Eve of Halloween.

For the ball it was necessary to have a date. You weren't allowed to go single. And everyone knew that James wanted to go with Lily, but she was already taken by a 6th year Hufflepuff. He was a chaser on the Hufflepuff quidditch team, and James vowed to 'accidentally' slam into him next time they played.

Peter had a date with Emma of course, since they were now an item. You barely saw one without the other. As for Remus, he asked Alexis which made Sirius slightly jealous. "You don't mind, do you mate?" he had asked Sirius who shook his head no.

Sirius shrugged that thought off as Peter scampered up to the room. "Professor McGonagall is here to take you to the train" he said and hurried down the stairs once more, probably to be with Emma.

James and Sirius both took hold of their trunks and merely glanced at one another before heading down the stairwell. They reached the common room and of course saw the tight lipped McGonagall standing there, tapping her foot no doubt, and wishing the two boys would hurry it up.

After a long ride on the train, they finally reached the station where they got off and met Mrs. Potter who still looked teary eyed. She looked as though she hadn't slept for weeks and her hair was all disheveled.

She hugged each of them tightly and they headed to one of the ministry's cars that he was lending them for the trip to the funeral home where the funeral would be taking place.

…..

After the funeral, James and Sirius both shook hands with all of the guests who came to the funeral, which was practically all of the purebloods, including the Malfoy Family.

Lucius Malfoy's father walked up to the two boys and grasped James's hand firmly. "Your father deserved what he got" he muttered so that only they could hear him. "He should know better then to mess with the dark lord."

Sirius grabbed Mr. Malfoy's hand. "You take that back" he growled under his breath and twisted his wrist slightly only to see a nerve twitch at the corner of his mouth.

After twisting his wrist a little more so you could see another twitch of pain Mr. Malfoy finally exhaled. "Take your grubby paws off of me if you know what's good for you, you filthy blood traitor."

Sirius turned to James and grinned. "Wow, I'm a blood traitor" he said to James. This may be a time for mourning but Sirius wanted to try and spice it up a tad. Things were too sad for his likings.

Sirius let go of Mr. Malfoy's wrist. Before walking away, Mr. Malfoy made sure to send a cold sneer in the direction of the Mudblood Lover and the Blood Traitor.

….

After arriving back at Hogwarts the next day, they both found out that Remus would be leaving that night to transform so they told him all about Mr. Malfoy in the common room.

Luckily for Sirius, Belle overheard Sirius telling Remus about the funeral.

"I can't believe I was stupid enough to kiss a Malfoy!" Belle exclaimed loud enough for the whole common room to hear her.

Lily walked up to her. "Belle you need to tone it down a bit. Some students are trying to study" she said indicating to the first years that seemed to be sweating over a potions essay.

Belle rolled her eyes as Lily walked away. "She can be so into herself at times. Ever since she became a damned prefect."

James and Sirius nodded their agreement and both sat down on the couch with Belle in between them. James decided to leave the two of them alone and headed over to talk to Alexis.

"So" Sirius began. "Do you have a date for the Halloween Ball?" Sirius asked Belle.

She shook her head no. "Well, would you like to go with me?"

Belle turned a slight shade of pink and then answered that she would love to. She then kissed Sirius' cheek and headed up to her dormitory, turning around once she reached the stairs and giggled.

James strolled back over to Sirius who looked like he had just one the lottery.

"Did you ask her?" James asked Sirius who nodded sheepishly. "Good for you mate" he said clapping Sirius on the back.

"So who are you going with?" Sirius asked James. "Well I was going to ask Alexis, but Remus got to it first."

Sirius looked at the two sitting at the other side of the common room. "Yeh, well they do look pretty good together, and she does seem happy."

James sighed. "I suppose you're right, and we all know I don't stand a chance with Lily so I'm not going to bother."

"Oh well you never know James. It could happen" Sirius shrugged.

"Yeh, like I really have such great luck" James rolled his eyes.

Remus and Peter came over to the two of them and talked until Professor McGonagall came and picked Remus up.

"Here comes Lily now. Why don't you go ask her to the Halloween Ball Jamesy-poo?" Sirius said, giving his friend a push in her direction.

James ran his hand through his hair to give it the usual windswept look and made his way over to Lily who was writing stuff down on a note pad.

James cleared his throat and Lily immediately asked "What do you want Potter? I'm kind of busy if you haven't noticed."

James ran his hand through his hair again. "Well I umm wanted to know if you would go to the Halloween ball with me" He said nervously.

Lily looked up from her note pad, cocked and eyebrow and broke out into fits of laughter that made James turn a very deep shade of red.

"Well?" James asked after a couple minutes.

"You're kidding, right?" Lily asked, disgusted that James would even bother asking.


	10. The Halloween Ball

Lily looked at James in disbelief. "I can't believe you're going to bother asking when a) I hate you. b) I already have a date, and c) I hate you."

James became red with fury. "Every time I try to do a nice thing, you always shoot down my throat about the flaws in it! Why can't you ever act normal?"

Lily sneered at James. "James Potter, I always have and always will hate you!" she screeched. "You say do nice things? Well watching me, stalk naked, in the prefect's bathroom, is not a nice thing to do!"

James had his fists balled up in anger. He took one long hard look at her and stormed out of the common room. Lily noticed that a lot of students were staring at her now and she snapped "Get back to your work!"

Xxxx

Remus sighed as Professor McGonagall led him out across the grounds and towards the Whomping Willow. He felt like a female, seeing as once a month his body became out of control. He felt he could sort of understand what females went through now and had more respect for them. Though Remus always respected everyone.

Professor McGonagall turned to face Remus once she had prodded the knot on the tree which had made it freeze.

"This is where I leave you" she said as usual. "You know the deal. Madam Pomfrey will come by in three days time to collect you and bring you back up to the school to heal you. Stay in the house" she finished in a firm voice.

Remus nodded that he understood and clambered through the entryway in front of him. He climbed down the roots and into the familiar passage that would lead him to the Shrieking Shack.

He slowly walked down the passage. He had walked down it once a month for the past five years, and it was still creepy to him. It always seemed that there was something lurking in the shadows, but he knew that he was the only monster around.

He reached the end of the tunnel where he came up through a trap door in the living room of the Shrieking Shack. He could see that it was still slightly light outside but the sun was setting at what seemed to be a rapid pace.

Remus sat down on the floor and looked around at his surroundings. He didn't know why Dumbledore had provided furniture for him; he always ended up ripping it to shreds. The wooden floors were covered in claw marks and the curtains, like the furniture, were ripped to pieces.

Remus sighed once again as he saw the sun disappear over the horizon. He had taken up the habit of sighing a lot lately.

He watched a cloud slowly remove itself from the moon and Remus could feel a vein in his forehead throbbing as a cold sweat engulfed him. His body became rigid and he could feel his body twisting and turning in ways that he didn't think he could do without the curse.

He felt thick fur covering his body while his fingernails grew into sharp claws. His teeth were now growing and becoming much more pointy and into fangs. He let out a howl of pain that could be heard back at Hogwarts as his body finished the transformation.

Xxxx

Peter, Sirius, and James all looked up from their books in the Room of Requirements as they heard the sound of a werewolf howling in the distance. The sound always sent chills down Peter's spine, and he wrapped his arms tightly around himself, as if he was hugging himself.

To get James's mind off of the rejection, Peter and Sirius rounded him up and drug him to the Room of Requirements where they would do more studying on their anamagi forms.

Ever since Peter had transformed that one time he had avoided trying it again in fear that he wouldn't be able to turn back to himself.

After two hours of trying, Sirius was capable of growing a snout and James had developed hooves.

"This is useless" James grumbled as he put his book down on the table.

Sirius sighed. "Peter, how did you do it?" he asked while turning to his friend who was sitting in an arm chair.

Peter became slightly pale at the memory. "I don't really remember. Inside I was kind of praying that it wouldn't work, yet I was completely focused on transforming." Peter gulped and looked at his two friends continued to stare at him, waiting for more to be said. "Well I don't know, I just kind of closed my mind on my other thoughts and then I was a rat."

Both James and Sirius exchanged glances then stood up. James took hold of the invisibility cloak and motioned for Sirius and Peter to get under as they headed back to the common room.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The night of the Halloween Ball had finally arrived and everyone was dressing up in their costumes. It was afterall Halloween so of course there were costumes involved.

James had finally managed to get a date with a fourth year Ravenclaw who was quite pretty. He had met her in the entrance hall. She was dressed in a flowy silvery gown and had a pair of wings on and in her wand she was hold her wand which she had gotten one of her friends to put a charm on it to make it sparkle for the evening.

James had his hair slicked back and instead of his usual black rimmed glasses, he sported a pair of 'cool' shades that he had picked up in a muggle store that he and Sirius had seen while walking around London over the summer. He was supposed to be what a muggle referred to as a 'Greaser'.

James grinned at Jessica, the pretty Ravenclaw as she hooked arms with him.

"You look gorgeous" he whispered into her ear as they enterred the wonderfully decorated Great Hall.

Jessica turned a deep shade of red at the words being whispered into her ear, but she suddenly gasped at the sight of the hall. Floating Jack-O-Lanterns of all shapes and sizes were floating along with the enchanted candles. There were haystacks and scarecrows enchanted to dance. There was an area set up for dancing and an area off to the side set up with tables full of every kind of sweet immaginable. The band 'Spook 'Em', which was composed of several ghosts, was hired, and there were already several students out on the dance floor.

Sirius and Belle waved from the dance floor as they saw James and Jessica walk in. Sirius was dressed as a vampire. He had the black cape, fangs and all. Belle, of course, was his victim. She was dressed in an old dress that she had found in the back of a store. The sales clerk had leered at her while she was trying the dress on and when she bought the dress, Belle could've sworn that the clerk had smirked to herself. All she knew was that some old and powerful witch had once worn this dress.

Sirius and Belle continued to dance as Remus and Alexis came and joined the two. Alexis was dressed as the transfiguration teacher and Remus had a long silvery beard attatched to himself and one could only guess he was trying to be Dumbledore.

Sirius and Belle both laughed at the sight of Remus with the long beard.

"Who are you supposed to be? Father Time?" Sirius asked in between chuckles.

"I'm Dumbledore, obviously" Remus said.

"I told him he needs the half moon spectacles" Alexis said while grinning.

They continued to dance for a while and then went and sat with Peter and Emma who were both dressed as gingerbread men (well Emma was obviously a gingerbread woman but you get the picture).

Soon James and Jessica came and joined the others.

"I don't know how people could breathe in these corsets or dresses" Belle commented while taking some shallow breaths.

Sirius turned to her, his face full of concern. "Are you ok?" he asked.

Belle nodded. "Just need to get adjusted to breathing like this."

Alexis turned to Belle. "Do you want to go to the loo and I can loosen the corset for you?" she asked.

A wave of relief swept over Belle. "Would you?"

Alexis nodded while standing up and following Belle to the bathroom.

After many minutes of trying to loosen the corset in the bathroom, Belle gasped as she felt the material tighten around her. "I said loosen, not tighten!" she managed to squeeze out as the material kept shrinking in around her. It suddenly stopped when she was the point to where she felt as if she was going to pass out.

"I'm trying, I'm trying. It won't loosen up at all" Alexis said. She then took out her wand and muttered a charm, but it didn't seem to work at all.

"Nothings working" Alexis said to Belle who immediately started to panic. "Calm down or you're going to pass out. I'm going to get James and Sirius. You wait here" Alexis said while rushing out of the room.

James and Sirius rushed in with Alexis tailing behind them. Belle had become dizzy and ended up leaning against the wall. She knew that sitting would put more pressure on her lungs and she wouldn't be able to breathe at all.

"Belle, are you ok?" Sirius asked a very pale Belle. She nodded weakly and collapsed into his arms.

After trying for several minutes and having absolutely no luck, Sirius sent Alex and James off to find Dumbledore. Sirius held Belle close and kissed her forehead lightly. "It's going to be ok" he whispered in her ear.

Dumbledore rushed in with McGonagall, once again with James and Alex tailing them.

Dumbledore took a look at the clasp and murmured something to Professor McGonagall who merely nodded her agreement.

"Insemptio" Dumbledore mumbled while tapping the corset with his wand and the clasp dissolved and immediately loosened the whole corset.

"Take her to the hospital wing" Dumbledore told Sirius, James and Alexis. "Madam Pomfrey will be able to give her something to make her capable of breathing better. I'm afraid she may have a bit of a problem because it was bound so tightly for so long."

Sirius picked Belle up and carried her to the hospital wing as James and Alexis returned to their dates.

He laid her down on the vacant bed Madam Pomfrey had shown him and held her hand. Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips then walked towards the cabnet at the far side of the wing.

"Same night eh?" Sirius said.

Belle smiled weakly and reached up and kissed him lightly to Sirius's surprise.

"Ahem" Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat. "I think it's best you leave now. You can check up on her in the morning."

Sirius nodded and kissed Belles cheek one last time and then left the Hospital Wing. Instead of heading back to the ball, he headed straight to the common room. He couldn't wait until the next day when he could check up on Belle.


	11. Confessions and Transformations

**_Chapter 11 Confessions and Transformations_**

Time had passed quickly and it was nearing Christmas, which meant going home for the holidays. As usual, Sirius and James were going back to the Potter house for Christmas. Peter was staying at Hogwarts with Emma, and Remus, of course, was going home because a full moon fell on the two weeks they would be gone for.

It was the day before they would be leaving and Sirius, James, and Remus were all upstairs packing.

"So is ickle Sirius going to miss ickle Belle? They've lasted so long now!" James exclaimed and dodged a pillow thrown in his direction by Sirius.

Sirius and Belle had been together now since the Halloween Ball. Dumbledore took into liberty to announce that there would probably not be another costume ball after what had happened at the previous one.

James had finally finished packing and turned to the other two boys. "I think we should try to practice one more time before we leave."

Both Sirius and Remus nodded their agreement. "We just have to pry Peter away from Emma long enough" Sirius chuckled while clicking his trunk closed.

After finally closing his trunk, Lupin said he'd talk to Peter about that evening, and if he argued then he'd say how he had the whole Christmas break to spend with her.

**Xxxxxx**

Deciding to spend the afternoon in the crisp, powdered snow that had fallen the night before, Remus, Sirius, James, Peter, Alexis, Belle and Emma all decided to go outside for a snowball fight.

After getting completely drenched by the snow, the seven students trudged back up to the school, slowly getting rid of their soaked outer clothing.

They entered the common room to see Lily studying alone in a corner. She looked up as they entered, and shot a glare at James as his hand magnetically went up to mess up his hair at the sight of her.

James continued to stare at Lily, and when she could no longer take it she stalked up to her dormitory.

James shook his head as Lily gave them all one last hair toss before disappearing up the stairs.

"What is up with her?" James asked Belle.

"Family problems" Belle said quietly. "She's been really stressed out about it."

Sirius and James exchanged glances and changed the topic within moments.

**Xxxxxxxx**

Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were all walking down the hallway as they were leaving for the Room of Requirements when they heard two low voices.

Sirius soon figured out who it was and pulled the others into an unlocked room.

"It's Snivellus and Malfoy" he said. James grinned at Sirius. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked.

Remus stuck his hand out in the middle of the group. "No way, no pranks. I'm a prefect. I can't get in trouble!"

"That's why you don't participate" Sirius said quickly and turned to James and Peter.

Peter looked a little hesitant but decided to join in. He didn't want to feel left out from the group.

They talked it over for a moment and Sirius got a wicked smirk on his face and turned round the corner, pointed his wand at Snape who was talking to Lucius, and muttered an incantation.

Suddenly in the middle of the conversation Snape said "I've always wanted you Malfoy."

Lucius sneered at the words that came out of his mouth. "What are you talking about?" he drawled.

"I've been attracted to you all along. I've just been too shy to say it. I've wanted to be with you since day one" Snape continued, moving closer and closer to Lucius as if hitting on him.

Lucius' sneer grew even larger and he walked away muttering cuss words with Snape trailing after him like a long lost puppy dog.

Sirius and James high-fived each other after Snape and Lucius had turned the corner. Peter was giggling (yes I know such a strange word to use on a guy but trust me he was) and Remus had a stern look plastered on his face.

Suddenly he broke out into fits of laughter along with the other three. "What spell did you use?" he asked Sirius.

"Just one that I had heard around my house before. You hear a lot of weird things living in that hell hole" Sirius said while shrugging.

They continued their way to the Room of Requirements and entered, once again reading through many books before attempting the process.

Peter had finally gained some courage to try again, but this time had failed, yet he wasn't as upset as he would usually be.

James and Sirius both took a step into the cleared space of the room and concentrated hard. Their wands pointed at their temples they both quietly muttered the incantation at the same moment.

Almost instantly Sirius shrunk down and fell to his hands and knees, his body changing shape and thick black fur covering him from head to toe.

James had also fallen to his hands and knees, yet he stayed tall and proud, while a thin layer of light brown fur clung to him and antlers seemed to sprout of his head.

Remus gasped at the sight and Peter tripped over the back of his chair. Both eyes grew in amazement as they looked at the figures of Sirius who was now a dog and James who seemed to be a deer or a stag, whichever you prefer to call it.

Moments later, they transformed to their regular shapes, both out of breath and slightly shocked.

"D-did we actually do it?" Sirius stuttered.

Remus nodded while grinning broadly.

"Sweet!" James exclaimed and exchanged another high-five with Sirius.


End file.
